CHAPTER 4: PREVIOUS AND CURRENT MINING METHODS.

4.1 Introduction

a.) Numerous coal-winning methods have been used on the mine

during its four years of existence. The current methods must be
judged on the economic factors and their advantages and
disadvantages.
b.) During the history of the mine, rapid variations in seam heights
were encountered. These were attributed to the irregular nature
of the roof and floor. It has been proved that conditions improve
as mining proceeds southwards. The roof conditions generally
vary according to the mineable portion of the seam selected.
Currently the whole seam is mined and the roof conditions have
proved to be very good. Isolated instances of roof slumping have
occurred, which in turn led to difficult mining conditions in those
specific areas.
c.) Some areas have a mudstone roof but even this kind of roof has
proved to be competent and the coal mineable.
d.) The floor is generally very competent sandstone.

4.2 Mining method and equipment

4.2.1 General
The bord and pillar mining layout will be maintained because of its
reliability, flexibility, low capital cost, low working costs and large skills
source availability (Woodruff, 1966). Increasing mechanization has
resulted in an increasing production in the amount of the fine coal
fractions, which attract Significantly lower prices. The introduction of the
continuous miner in some areas has decreased the amount of the
higher valued coarser fractions. From the start a combination of two
conventional drill and blast sections and one continuous miner with a
continuous haulage were used. The haulage system was abandoned 1
year ago due to numerous breakages and expensive repairs and its

51

 inflexibility in problem areas. It was replaced with 3 Stamler thin seam

battery haulers. A revolving stone crew undertakes the development of
dykes and does the roof brushing to 1.8m in thinner seam areas.
When the need arose a contractor was employed to catch up with the
roof brushing and in some cases install additional roofbolts.

4.2.2 Continuous Miner Section

From early days on the trend in bord and pillar mining was towards
continuous miners (Woodruff, 1966). More recently there has been an
increasing trend in the industry to replace the traditional shuttle cars,
battery cars and scoops by continuous haulage systems. The opposite
took place at Dorstfontein Coal Mine where shuttle cars are preferred
for their flexibility and low running costs.

In the CM-section the continuous miner cuts between 7 and 11

roadways, depending on the preferred layout at the time (Fig. 4.1, 4.2).
Pillar and bord widths are 6.8m, giving a coal extraction in the region of
70 to 75%. In Figure 4.1 it is illustrated that the CM cuts a split of 6.8m
wide to the right of the travel road (marked 1) and while resin bolts are
installed in this split the CM cuts a straight (marked 2) and another split
(marked 3) of 6.8m wide. During the support of these last two cuts, the
CM moves back into the right side of the panel and cuts numbers 4
and 5. Since it is illegal to work under unsupported roof, the CM has to
wait while cut 4 is supported before moving to cut number 6 and 7. The
whole cycle is repeated and the installation time of the support
determines the cutting time of the CM.

Figure 4.2 illustrates the ventilation layout of the CM section.

Ventilation is very important for a healthy working environment and
even more important in thin seam mining were only small volumes of
air can pass through the restricted and narrow workings. The intake air
moves in on the right side of the section and ventilates the coal face,

52

removes all the methane and dust and returns on the left side of the
panel. Some leakage does occur since the temporary scoop brattices
or curtains, installed to direct the air. are not airtight and sealed
properly. Some of these temporary curtains are removed to allow the
haulers to move from the face to the tip. These curtains are later
replaced by brick walls as the section moves forward.

The section is equipped with the following:

1 x Joy 12HM15 Continuous miner with a 1.12 meter drum.
- 3 x Thin seam Stamler BH1 0 Battery Haulers (1 m high).
1 x Self-propelled thin seam roofbolter.
1 x Battery scoop.
1 x Feeder-Breaker.
1 x Mobile 750 t<NA transformer.
1 x Mobile switch trailer with flameproof gate end boxes.
1 x Portable jet fan.
The manpower is:
1x Miner.
1x CM operator and assistant.
1 x Cable handlers.
3 x Hauler drivers.
1 x Roofbolter operator and assistant.
2 x Feeder-Breaker operators.
7 x General labourers.
The total number of persons per shift is 16.

53

4.2.3 Conventional Drill and Blast Section

The flexibility of the conventional drill and blast sections in negotiating
geological obstacles together with the improved creation of the
financially attractive coarser fraction product, is still important factors in
the use of this method of mining. Unfortunately this method only works
effectively for seam heights above 1,6m as production rates decrease
exponentially with the reduction of heights. In the current thin seam
area the parting is included in the mining to provide the necessary
height for this section. The yield decrease is significant by including this
parting.

In this section an amount of 11 roadways are been mined with pillars

width 6.8m and bords 6.8m, giving an extraction in the region of 70 to
75%.This section is equipped with the following:
1 x Coal loader.

1 x Roofbolter.

1 x Feeder- Breaker.

1 x Coal Cutter.

- 2 x Joy Shuttle Cars.

- 2 x Electric Coal Drills.

1 x Mobile 750 twA transformer.

The manpower is:

1 x Miner

2 x Electric Coal Drill operators and 2 x assistants.

2 x Drill assistants Oackhammer).

1 x Coal Cutter operator and assistant.

1 x Coal Loader operator and assistant.

2 x Shuttle Cars drivers.

1 x Feeder-Breaker operator.

1 x Roofbolter operator and assistant.

56

 5 x General labourers.

The total number of persons per shift is 21.

4.2.4 Stone Work Team

The mine has a dedicated stonework team, whose duties include:
a.) Mining through dykes exposed by coal winning.
b.) Brushing and supporting of the roof to 1.8m heights in roadways
and belt roads.
c.) Brushing and supporting of the roof designated for ventilation and
mine infrastructure e.g. air crossings.
d.) Installation of superior and additional support in areas where poor
roof conditions prevail.

The stonework team is operating on a single shift but can be changed

to a double shift when conditions dictate. Additional contractors were
introduced to help with specialized support and to assist where
additional support was required.

The stonework team is equipped with the following:

1x Self propeller roofbolter
1x Mobile 500 cpm compressor
3x Pneumatic drills uackhammer) and air legs
1x Mobile switch trailer with flame proof gate end boxes
1x Mobile 500 kVA transformer
1x Portable explosives magazine

The manpower is:

1x Miner

2x Drill operators uackhammer)

2x Drill assistants uackhammer)

2x General labourers

The total number of persons per shift is 7.

57

 All external waste mined, such as roof rock, dyke material and burnt
coal is stowed underground in such a manner so as to minimize the
risk of spontaneous combustion.
4.3 Risks.
4.3.1 Geological.
a.) In-seam partings. These partings result in a drop of yield and
cause materials handling problems, which in tum adds to the cost
of maintenance on equipment and conveyor belts.
b.) Roof slumping and compaction structures. Sudden changes in
roof heights lead to difficult mining conditions. This so-called
"pinching" of seam heights creates difficult working conditions for
hauler- and shuttle car operators.
c.) Unexpected laminations in the roof. Thin laminations of silty
material in the roof lead to dangerous conditions as delamination of
the roof can result in rock falls, which can cause injury and
fatalities.
d.) Changes in coal quality. The drop in product yield directly results
in an increase in production costs. Unexpected quality changes
might result in dissatisfied customers, which can result in the
cancellation of contracts. The highest risk in this category is the
possibility of high sulphur values.
e.) Floor rolls. These occurrences are as unpredictable as their
extent is limited. Floor rolls caused dangerous conditions during
machine movements. The continuous miner had difficulty moving
over these rolls as the length of this machine caused the rear end
to "hang up" on the roof as the front-end traverse down the slope of
a roll.
t.) Dykes. Dolerite intrusions normally cause a section to come to a
halt as the roads need to be developed through the dyke by the
stone crew. Dykes result in burned or devolatilised coal, which can
not be sold. Dykes form gas traps for methane and often have bad
roof conditions associated with them.

58

4.3.2 Production.
Many of the production problems encountered at Dorstfontein mine
were associated with geological features. Unexpected thin seam
conditions (1.5m and thinner) resulted in a sudden halt of production in
many sections. For a continuous miner section a serious geological
thread is the appearance of an in-seam parting. Production losses may
be as much as 50% when these features occur in the CM-section. For
the conventional sections the most deleterious conditions are sudden
drops in seam height due to roof slumping. The fixed set of mining
equipment in a conventional section makes it almost impossible to
negotiate this kind of problem. Production losses may be as much as
70% of normal production as roof stripping needs to be done for the
haulers to move around. A loss of production means less product coal
to sell which results in a loss of income. Production losses also mean
an increased unit cost, as the fixed cost component remains constant.
4.3.3 Safety.
Many of the geological risks may result in a serious injury or fatality.
Currently Dorstfontein mine has a very good safety record with almost
2000 fatality free shifts (will be achieved June 2003) and a lost time
injury frequency rate (LTIFR) below 2. This has only been achieved by
the continuous awareness of the workers of the difficult mining
conditions encountered so far. Another factor contributing to the good
safety record is the fact that during most of the mine's life it has been
prodUCing in the higher seam areas (1.5 - 2.5m). The occasional,
unpredicted and localized geological problems were negotiated in a
safe and efficient manner. The largest part of the remaining reserve will
be in similar or even better conditions. The risks, which may possibly
result in injury or fatality, have been identified and are well managed by
a dedicated management team and workforce.
4.3.4 Costs.
High costs are a fact of mining but sudden increases in working cost is
a huge risk for a small operation. Unexpected changes in geological

59

 CHAPTER 5: THIN SEAM RESOURCES.

5.1. International.
They are only 3 main areas in the world where significant quantities of
thin seam coal are mined namely the U.S.A, Europe and the former
U.S.S.R. (Clarke et aI., 1982). Of these the former U.S.S.R. produced
more than 75 percent of all thin seam coal worldwide and that mainly
from the Ukraine. In Europe the mining techniques have been developed
for deep mining conditions while in the U.S.A shallower and flatter
seams have allowed for room and pillar methods.

The largest producers of thin seam coal are the former U.S.S.R. and the
U.S.A Other countries produce smaller tonnages but still have significant
output. Countries like Spain, the U.K., Czechosl~akia, Poland and
Colombia produced significant quantities of coal from thin seams. In the
late 1980s and during the 1990s most of the U.K. mines were closed
principally because of economic reasons following decreases in state
subsidy. Some of the old mines like Trimdon Colliery (1840 - 1925)
worked seams with heights of 3 feet 8 inches (1.11 m) at depths of 195m
using drill and blast methods. Very small tonnages are still produced in
the U.K. and this country has become a net importer of coal.

Table 4. Thin seam definition in various countries (Clarke et at,

1982).
COUNTRY m in
Belgium, U.S.A I 0.60 24
i
Germany 0.70 28 I
U.K. 0.91 36
•
I
France, Poland, Ukraine, 1.00 39
I Czechoslovakia
I Former U.S.S.R. 1.20 48
I
I Bulgaria 1.30 51
I

61

Table 5. Thin seam output as percentage of total coal output (Clarke

et al., 1982)
COUNTRY % OF RESERVES
........................... _--_.....
Spain 70.0
Colombia 50.0
Former U. S. S. R. 47.6
I--------­
Belgium 38.4
Czechoslovakia 30.0
U.S.A. 10.8
France 7.8
U.K. 7.0
Poland 2.0
Germany 1.1
I

Since thin seam mining has become unfavourable due to its low
production rate and output, these figures could have changed
subsequently, as some countries have closed their thin seam mines.
Countries like France, Belgium and Germany produced significant
tonnages from thin seams in the 1960s but have ceased production from
these mines. In Annexure 1 the various thin seam reserves are described.

No information about thin seam mining in China could be obtained. It is not

even known if they do mine thin seams, as information coming from that
country is either non-existent or not translated. It is well known that China has
almost tripled its coal production and has become one of the major coal
producing countries.

In Australia collieries are focused on high output from 30m seams and consist
mainly of opencast mines. Some information about Australian thin seam

62

 Other states with potential thin seam mines do exist and their potential
was investigated in more recent times. In Annexure 1 it can be seen that
West Virginia has introduced a tax reduction and new tax formula for thin
seam mines. Other states have made similar proposals to their
legislators in order to keep thin seam mining and their communities alive
and to promote the opening of new thin seam mines.

5.2. Republic of South Africa. (See fig. 5.1)

In the South African scenario most of the thin seam coal mining took place
in the KwaZulu-Natal Coalfields. Some thin seam mining of the No. 5
Seam took place in the Highveld and Witbank Coalfields for example the
old Blesbok, Landau, Springbok and Greenside collieries. The NO.5 seam
does not fit our definition of the thin seam as the average thickness of this
seam in the Highveld and Witbank regions is 1.8m (Jordaan, 1986). Even
today some successful mining of the NO.5 Seam (1.5 - 1.8m thick) is
taking place at Bank Colliery and with variable success at Matla Coal Mine
(1.8m thick).

The two largest collieries in the Eastern Transvaal Coalfield (Greenfields,

1986), namely Usutu and Ermelo Mines, were closed due to adverse
geological conditions. These two mines occasionally mined thin seams
although their focus was not exclusively thin seam mining (Jacobs, 1989).
At Ermelo Mines some roof brushing had to be done when 1.2 m seam
thicknesses were intersected. As this mine was not equipped and focused
on thin seam mining, this development was mainly done to work through
thin seam areas to access thicker seams beyond. Similar conditions
prevail at the currently operating Spitzkop and Strathrae collieries (Fig.
5.2) (Greenshields, 1986). Carolina Coal Company produces (drill and
blast method) 11,000 ton per month from the 1.0m thick C-Seam and
16,000 tons per month from the 1.45m thick B-Seam. Eastside Colliery
has similar seam heights but only produce from an open pit (Mr. J.
Ackerman - Owner/operator, 2003, Pers. comm.)

64

It !s therefore safe to say that a very small amount of coal is produced

from thin seam mining in the Highveld, Witbank and Eastern Transvaal
Coalfields.

Exclusive thin seam mines were those operating in the KwaZulu-Natal

Coalfields. Many of these mines are now defunct with only a handful still
producing low tonnages for strategic purposes. In the past most of these
mines supplied anthracite and coking coal to the then fully operational
Newcastle steelworks of ISCOR and the export anthracite market. As ISCOR
has closed down and scaled down many of their operations it directly affected
the production of the thin seam collieries in the KwaZulu- Natal Coalfields. A
downturn in the international anthracite market as well as the introduction of
new metallurgical processes, such as direct reduction and briquetting in the
steel industry, has obviated the need for coking coal. Small output from these
collieries would not make them economically viable for the inland market only.
Most of them were kept open for strategic reasons and heavily subsidized by
a captured market (the then government-owned ISCOR). ISCOR found
alternative sources for coking coal, Groottegeluk at Ellisras and Tsikondeni
near Mussina, and could therefore close down not their Natal mines.

65

Table 7. Some defunct collieries in KwaZulu-Natal (Spurr et al., 1986)

•
Colliery Coalfield Date closed I
I
Balgray Utrecht i ?
i
Boemendal Consolidated Utrecht i 1966
!
I Constantia Coal Mine Vryheid ?
I
Dumbe Utrecht 1938
!
Dumbe Utrecht 1975 i
Elandsberg Anthracite t 1966
Vryheid
, 1971
Enyati I

Hlobane Vryheid I Late 1980s

I
Kilbarchan K1iprivier 1990s
I I
Kempslust Utrecht ?
Long ridge Utrecht Mid 1990s
!, Makateeskop Utrecht ?
Mooihoek Utrecht I
I
1966 I
Mooiklip Vryheid ?
Pivaan Utrecht 1979
I
I Vryheid Coronation • ryheid Late 1980s
i I
! Vryheid Coke .ryheid ?
i
Vryheid Export Vryheid ?
I
Weltevreden Anth racite Vryheid ?

The above listed mines are not necessarily exclusive thin seam mines but most were
a combination of thin and thick seams extracted simultaneously. Spurr et at., (1986)
and Bell and Spurr, (1986) listed many other mines of which many were not
exclusively thin seam mines. At Newcastle, in the K1iprivier Coalfield, the main seam
mined was the Upper Seam. The Middle Seam is the thin seam, 0.94m thick, but was
not always mined. The main coal produced from this area was anthracite and
currently some small operators still reclaim dumps and mine small pits e.g. AfriOre at
Springlake.

69

Table 8. Active collieries in KwaZulu-Natal (Pinheiro, 1999)

I
Colliery Coalfield
CBR Mining Kliprivier I
Duiker Heritage Vryh.. . ':
Duiker Nyembe Vryheid
Durban Navigation Kliprivier
..
I Springlake KliprlVler
I Umgala Utrecht
>---'~'~.-.c-------

• Welgedacht Utrecht
Zululand Anthracite Somkele

There are currently only 2 operating mines in the Vryheid area but in its prime this
area had a huge output of coking coal and anthracite for the export market. In the
whole KwaZulu-Natal Coalfield there are still some substantial thin seam
resources left but no market exists for these costly to mine thin seams. The total
indicated resource for all coal types in all the coal seams in the KwaZulu-Natal
coalfields is 3,035 Mt in situ of which unknown proportions are thin seams (Barker,
1999).

70